Annotation:Heart's Ease (1)

Tune properties and standard notation

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HEART'S EASE [1]. English, Air and Country Dance Tune (6/4 or 6/8 time). G Dorian. Standard tuning (fiddle). AAB (Chappell, Raven): ABB (Sharp): AABB (Barnes). This 16th century air was published by Playford in his English Dancing Master (1651); the words are not known. Shakespeare mentions it in Romeo and Juliet (act iv., sc. 5):

Peter.--Musicians, O musicians, "Heart's-ease, heart's-ease':
O an you will have me live, play 'Heart's-ease.'
1st Mus.--Why 'Heart's-ease'?
Peter.--O musicians, because my heart itself plays 'My heart
is full of woe': O play me some merry dump, to comfort me.

See also note for "Dump."

Source for notated version:

Printed sources: Barlow (Complete Country Dance Tunes from Playford's Dancing Master), 1985; No. 38, p. 25. Barnes (English Country Dance Tunes), 1986. Chappell (Popular Music of the Olden Time), vol. 1, 1859; pp. 98-99. Raven (English Country Dance Tunes), 1984; p. 42. Sharp (Country Dance Tunes), 1994; p. 42.

Recorded sources:

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Tune properties and standard notation